After Jesus’ departure, the chief of the Apostles Peter (the little Rock), spoke of the Sabbath – God’s Day – and also spoke of a day of judgment of ungodly men. He spoke of the terra firma, the landmass arising out of water at the time of God’s creation (2Pet 3:5). In the same verse he mentioned that the heavens already existed when God began His recreation of the face of the earth. God has instructed us to remember the Sabbath Day, and Peter put it in these terms: V8 "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends. With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day." He then goes on to describe the Day of the Lord. V10 "But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare." You will notice that all these things are linked to a promise made by God (V9). You will also notice that the earth and everything in it has not yet been laid bare – this is reserved for the Day of the Lord. Peter reiterates the meaning in V12 "You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the Day of God and speed its coming. That Day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a new heavens and a new earth, the home of righteousness."

Peter formerly wrote this in 1Peter 4:17 "For it is time for judgment to begin with the Family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not [obey God]? And, "If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?" You may have noticed that according to the pathetic doctrine of Christianity today, salvation is presumed to be easy – not hard! It requires you to do nothing except mouth the magic formula and you are automatically saved. There doesn’t seem to be anything hard about this! Could it be suggested that false Christianity have it wrong? Or did Peter get it wrong?

Peter spoke of the Day of the Lord, and the judgment. Yet long before this, God spoke of the outcome of this judgment. He spoke of judgment being given in favour of the saints (Dan 7:21-22). He confirms that the saints will inherit the Kingdom of God, and in other places, He also confirms they will be kings and priests.

Daniel was a prophet of the highest order. Christ confirmed the need to observe what Daniel wrote (Matt 24:15), and spoke of a day when the beast will stand in the Holy Place. Not surprisingly, this is the beast that will seek to destroy the Family of God. And this, among other things, is what Daniel wrote of. Christ was speaking of the time of the end, and so was Daniel!

Leaving aside the details of which kingdoms will arise in the endtime and their clear identity until the concluding chapters of this article, let’s make one clear point based on what God has said in relation to an enormous statue which represents four kingdoms that would exist in the endtime, and be destroyed at the same time: Dan 2:32 "The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, and its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. While you were watching a Rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing-floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the Rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth." It’s very clear that this same statue, which Daniel saw and identified, will exist again and all four kingdoms will be destroyed at the same time. And that same time is the Day of the Lord! The huge mountain is the terra firma – the landmass – that will be restored once more to what it was originally.

One point that should be made here is that Babylon is the head of gold, and this city will be prominent in endtime events – just as God has said! Regardless of what Satan’s minions have said, God knows best – just remember this! You will hear of all sorts of rumours and madness as Satan’s forces go to work, and these forces will be particularly prominent among the Churches of God, and particularly those who like to quote secular sources rather than the Word of God. Just remember that these people have agendas, which are contrary to God’s Truth – and God’s Truth is not what they are interested in. Overshadowing their entire doctrine is the bizarre nonsense that they will receive immortality for being unprofitable servants. And you’ll recall that Christ said, ‘When you have done all that is required of you, consider yourselves unprofitable servants.’ (Luke 17:10). Worthy or profitable servants are a different ‘cut of the cloth’ altogether. These are the ones who willingly put their lives on the line believing that God will reward them for their great faith. Heb 11:6 "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him."

The writers of the Book of Hebrews makes it very clear what type of faith God requires. Heb 11:32 "And what more shall I say? I do not have time to speak about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawn in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and ill-treated – the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains; and in caves and holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect." To be a profitable or worthy servant, God requires you to put your life on the line, and believe that He exists and is able to raise you from the dead. This is exactly what Christ did! He believed that God would raise Him from the dead.

Abraham is called the ‘father of the faithful’. And we don’t need to ponder why – God has told us! Heb 11:19 "Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, He did raise Isaac from the dead." The great men and women of the Bible didn’t cling to life at any cost, they believed that God gives life and He can take it away, but they also believed that God is able to reward those who diligently seek Him – even raising them from the dead.

If I had to make a judgment, I would say that the first group is the more faithful because they believed God early. They didn’t wait around to see what the outcome would be, but willingly put their lives on the line when they faced overwhelming odds. We are reminded of God’s repeated instructions to Joshua, when he was about to go into the Promised Land – to be strong and very courageous (Josh 1:6, 7, 9, 18). The vast majority of Christianity doesn’t have this kind of faith! They expect God to molly-coddle them and give them a life of affluence. They whine and complain at the slightest adversity and cast around for someone to blame or sue. They expect someone else to pay for their adversity. If never occurs to them to willingly suffer loss – cheerfully! The vast majority of them are mean and unrelenting, suspicious and self-serving. Paul gave an example of Godly behaviour when he said ‘Whatever situation I find myself in, I have learned to be content.’ These words will ring in the ears of many who have never learned to accept adversity – cheerfully!

God has made it clear that those who don’t love His Law will serve other nations under a different law – and these nations will be a law to themselves – specifically, the Babylonians (Hab 1:6-7).

The worldly masses are not inhibited by ‘rule of law’ but by the power of those who introduced it. If the power of the holy people were stripped away, then no mercy would be shown them. And Almighty God knows this all too well! God knows that the one who is presently restraining them – the mighty Ephraim – is a deterrent to the wicked behaviour of Satan’s forces. Paul describes it this way in 1Thess 2:3 "Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed. He opposes and exalts himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, and even sets himself up in God’s Temple, proclaiming himself to be God. Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you of these things? And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the splendour of His coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love Truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie, and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the Truth but have delighted in wickedness."

This wicked, lawless one will arise and eventually be destroyed by Christ Himself at His return. This is the proper time for him to be revealed – just before the return of Christ with great power. The secret power of lawlessness is already at work – and this is the work of Satan. If you understand the signs of the times, you will see the secret power of lawlessness in action right now. You will also recognize the restraining factor is God’s mighty son Ephraim (the U.S.) – the one God trained in infancy, and also stooped down to feed. God led this son in loving kindness and heaped enormous blessings on him. These great blessings are becoming a curse as the rapacious appetite of Satan’s hordes covet them and desire to sweep across the earth and claim them for their own.

Almighty God speaks contemptuously of the nations of the world and considers them worthless and less than nothing (Isa 40:17). As an example, Afghanistan has experienced drought conditions for years. So severe has this drought been that fruit trees and grapevines died, and were burnt as fuel for fires. These people utterly denuded the whole landscape of vegetation and turned the country into a desert. Since September 11, they have experienced earthquakes; almost it seems, on a weekly basis. An interesting comment came from an Afghan observer. He said that since the war on terrorism started and the Al Qaeda and Taliban deposed from rulership, the weather pattern has begun to change to normal seasonal patterns. He said it seemed as if God had removed the curse from the land. Rain came and restored some of the parched land. Immediately they began to plant crops. Not food crops, but opium to sell to the people of the U.S. and the Western world. Many of these people had formerly expressed the view that their curse was directly linked to opium growing, but as soon as the drought lifted they changed their minds. They chose to continue their cursed activities in order to curse the House of Israel. With their crops flourishing in their fields, they awoke to the devastation of a plague of locusts, which moved in to systematically destroy all their crops. Now they know they are under the curse of God.

The all-wise God knows there are incentive issues involved. He has made it very plain that there are blessings for obedience to His Laws, and curses for disobedience – even among Gentiles. Of course, the rulers of the Gentiles know this all too well. These are not ordinary rulers, and the Apostle Paul made this very plain. He told us that these rulers are not flesh and blood, but something entirely different – they are spirit-beings. Eph 6:10 "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty Power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

Concerning words and names, it’s worth mentioning that the language of the prophets is English. God has made it clear that the prophets must communicate in the language understood by the House of Israel, and only English is common among the majority of the 12 Tribes. God put it this way: Eze 3:4 "He then said to me, "Son of man, go now to the House of Israel and speak my words to them. You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you. But the House of Israel is not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for the whole House of Israel is hardened and obstinate. But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are. I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house." You might like to wonder what would happen if some fool came along preaching in Hebrew or Greek to the House of Israel today. It might sound cute to some, but they, along with the whole House of Israel, would not understand the warning at all. But since God instructs His servants to deliver the message in a language they do understand, God also predicts that they won’t believe it. In doing so, God wants to ensure they are without excuse. You may be surprised to know that none of the prophets went to all Israel; it was usually just a small portion of them – a very small portion. Jesus Christ was an example. He came to His own Tribe but they refused to believe Him. Yet He plainly stated that He had come to ‘the lost sheep of Israel’. And for further clarification, the ‘lost sheep of Israel’ represents all 12 Tribes of Israel, just as Gabriel told Mary that her Son would rule over the House of Jacob forever (Luke 1:33). It’s bad news for all those who don’t know who the Tribes of Israel are, because this is what the Kingdom of God is being established for – to rule forever (same verse). The House of Israel are the elite of the earth in that God has only chosen them! (Amos 3:1-2).

It’s an indictment against the House of Israel that God has said if He had sent His prophets to those of a different language they would have listened. But God hasn’t done this! Those who don’t understand the language of the prophets are not going to hear the message God is sending! But what of Israel who do understand the language? Not only are they hardened and unyielding, they have no desire to know God’s instructions on anything. Wading around in soft mush of unscriptural beliefs is their only contribution to anything that they believe resembles God’s instructions. Hard decisions are taken without any consultation with guidance from their Creator. In the good times of peace and prosperity with expanding markets and general well-being, the House of Israel saw no need for God or His teachings. God has said, ‘Only the fool has said in his heart there is no God!’ Suddenly, after six thousand years of human experience, the House of Israel have become fools, and have decided that God didn’t create anything. They cleverly devised theories to ‘prove’ that all life evolved from slime. So Christianity has become largely symbolic; a spiritual projectile fired above the broad masses like a skyrocket to make them feel good. Today, they foolishly worship the creation more than the Creator. It seems that the Apostle Paul had similar concerns in his day (Rom 1:25). People had begun to think that concerns for the environment was a form of godliness; that somehow they could have grave concerns about various species, and herald these views as being more important than the people of God.

At the onset of the worst possible time in human history, God has left a cryptic message in Rev 6:5-6, which says, ‘Do not hurt the oil and the wine!’ In the next chapter of this article you’ll know exactly what is meant.

In the days of Noah, God determined to wipe all lifeforms from the earth, with the exception of Noah and his family, and the animals that God arranged to preserve. His feelings at that time are described as long-suffering (NKJV 1Pet 3:20). In other words, God couldn’t wait to do it. But Peter’s words provide further insight. This is what he wrote: 1 Pet 3:19 "Through whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also – not the dirt of the body, but the pledge of a good conscience towards God." Yes, there were only eight people saved from this watery grave – but there was an indeterminable number of spirits who were sitting it out in prison when the risen Christ visited them and lorded it over them in triumph. These spirits didn’t die at the time of Noah, but they were punished. Only the human beings and the animals died. And this gives us some insight as to why God brought the flood.

It was the disobedience of these spirits that prompted such drastic action. The death of millions (if not billions) of human beings was scarcely worth mentioning. These were created from dust in order that they return to dust, and this is where the difference lies. The spirits are the rulers of the earth and are held fully accountable for all their actions. Human beings are born every day, and they die every day – just as the animals do. God hasn’t provided an afterlife for the animals because this is not God’s purpose. Human beings are only a little higher than the animals because of their ability to think and reason. Apart from this they are biologically similar to animals, and this is because God designed both. Peter continues to speak of baptism and adds a little more: V21-22 "It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand – with angels, authorities and powers in submission to Him." You might have noticed that there are not many human beings in submission to Him; they are just as disobedient as the spirits who formerly and continually disobey.

For the sake of the Brotherhood, which does understand, notice what happened next: V12 "Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a loud rushing sound – may the Glory of the Lord be praised in His dwelling-place – the sound of the wings of the living creatures brushing against each other and the sound of wheels beside them, a loud rushing sound. The Spirit then lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD upon me. I came to the exiles who lived in Tel Aviv near the Kebar River. And there, where they were living, I sat among them for seven days – overwhelmed." Ezekiel was certainly overwhelmed by what he saw and heard. He was lifted up by the Glory – the dwelling-place of God. After he was set down in the Holy Land, he was later told to go out to a vast plain, and there he again saw the Glory standing (V23). The Glory is also mentioned, along with the cherubim that Ezekiel saw, in Heb 9:5. I don’t know why it should seem strange to some people to learn where God dwells.

And when God speaks of war in heaven, it seems that most people can’t understand that God has weapons of war. Perhaps they believe that war in heaven will mean just a few isolated fistfights. In the war in heaven that will be fought shortly, and which is described in Rev 12:7-9, Satan’s forces are not strong enough and are cast to earth. This is when Christ begins to reign over the earth, and this is when the Sons of Jerusalem are called to duty. But the people of the earth will face Satan’s unrelenting fury (V12), and this fury will be concentrated against the saints of God.

God loves those who put aside all thoughts of their own importance and sense of well-being in favour of the things of God. And the Brotherhood is mentioned in V10 "…For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb and by the Word of their Testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from Death." Jesus Christ is the perfect example, and it’s the Word of His Testimony that is taught by the Brotherhood. Satan has some vicious killers among his entourage, and one of them is called Death (see Rev 6:8). This vicious ruler has not yet appointed his human host, but soon he will. The brothers don’t shrink back from him, but every accusation is meet with similar force. Those who shrink back are scarcely worthy of the Kingdom of God, which they are required to uphold. And not only this, but they are required to uphold God’s reputation. Satan not only accuses the brothers before God continually, but he also induces his agents to do the same.

What typifies these accusers is their weak, insipid arguments and their appalling ignorance of the Testimony of Jesus (See Rev 19:10). Once they embark on their lying accusations as the agents of Satan, they leave no room for repentance. There is no way back because they have alienated themselves from the very ones who are to rescue them from the hand of their enemies (Luke 1:74) – the very commission given to John the Baptist, but was not fulfilled at that time (John himself was killed by the enemy, and so was Jesus). The rescue will come much later, when God’s enemies take them captive, and it will be a physical rescue! And if you don’t believe it, it’s because you don’t believe God! But you won’t have much longer to wait to see if God is capable of fulfilling what He has said. You are now staring down the barrel of the most horrific time in all human history.

God formerly proclaimed the ‘day of the watchman’ would come, and that day has come. The watchman is watching! Everything that God has said is being fulfilled exactly as He has said, and the watchman is fulfilling his duty. It’s not by chance that God called the watchman to duty at the conclusion of six thousand years, and neither is it by chance that Satan marshaled his forces to sweep across the world and bring terror and destruction to so many innocent people at this time. God’s timetable is precise. Presently, God is dealing with human beings at the human level. The same God that recreated the face of the earth in six literal days has the power to do astounding things that are beyond human comprehension. Yet He has chosen to remain relatively silent until a certain day dawned, and His prophets have done the job assigned to them. When this is done, there will be no more delay. Peter put it this way: 2Pet 1:19 "And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the Day dawns and the Morning Star arises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." Peter knew that the Day had yet to dawn when he wrote this. But he made the point that the sure word of the prophets would begin to shine like a light while it was yet dark.

Peter said that prophecy never had its origins in the will of man. So why would any self-proclaimed ‘prophet’ be seeking instructions from other men’s opinions at a website? Especially since the men giving these instructions don’t teach according to the Word of God! Isn’t the Bible the place to go? Has God been remiss in giving us the information we need to understand prophecy? Didn’t Peter make it clear that the former prophets are the ones to consult? As the world descends into presumptive madness, God directs you to seek instruction from the man He has sent (Mal 2:7-9). His name is Levi, and his own given name means ‘prophet’ (Nevi). And Levi is embedded in his given names. This was done when he was born – over 60 years ago. So don’t go popping any blood vessels! This is the way it is! So it’s bad luck for all those who are swimming in their lake of self-importance. But be consoled. I live as simply as any man could live. My entire dwelling is 25 by 25 feet, and piled high with a collection of books gathered throughout my life time. My Levite brothers and sisters have seen a video camera walk-through of my dwelling and know this is true.

It’s a great pity that so many can’t grasp even the most elementary tenets of prophecy and believe the Truth. Because of this, they are destined to experience war in its full force, together with all the human suffering. And didn’t Christ Himself indicate this? Didn’t He say these words: Matt 24:36 "No-one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. This is how it will be with the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come."

In the meantime, Satan has begun to exceed the bounds of his authority. In the past, he dared not bring destruction to the people of God without cause. During the 20^th century, he cunningly manipulated one of the Tribes of Israel to fight against their own brother nations. He cultivated a satanic mindset in the German people to imagine themselves as the ‘master race’. It was a cunning ploy that might have worked except that God had decided to thwart his plans. It provided an opportunity for God to awaken the sleeping giant – Ephraim – God’s son, in matters of prophecy for this endtime (Jer 31:9, 20). Satan made a strategic mistake, and now he faces the prospect of arraigning Islam against a mighty, and seemingly invincible super-power – the only super-power on earth. And he has no other choice.

 

It should be obvious to all that Arafat’s ‘police force’ don’t need this type of weaponry. Just imagine these weapons in the hands of madmen like Yasser Arafat!	Karine A. This ship was stacked to the gunwales with enough firepower to kill millions of Israelis. They were purchased from Iran, and Arafat wrote the cheque personally.

Both are determined to give God’s Holy Land (or a portion of it) to the Palestinian dogs, and settle them in a sovereign state of their own with all the rights of statehood. The Israelis have learnt from bitter experience that giving weapons to Arafat’s 40,000-strong army (or ‘security police force’ as they are called), these weapons have been used for the sole purpose of killing innocent Israelis. Why would anyone insist on statehood for these degenerates? Statehood would confer on them the right to equip their army with any type of heavy armour, missiles, and the egress of foreign armies to arraign for battle against the Israelis. Statehood would give them the right to ship in many weapons from foreign nations as in the case of the Karine A, the shipload of sophisticated weapons sent by the Iranians. They could recruit foreign nationals and build a strong army and effectively become another terrorist state whose existence is sanctioned by the U.S. If the U.S. State Department is so worried about the welfare of Palestinians, why don’t they settle them in California? They would have a lot in common with the people in California, and the Californians seem to love them. (A certain beloved sister and her family being the notable exception!)

Now the wheel has turned full circle! The Jewish people are destined to be the saviors of the Tribes of Israel. They’ve had plenty of training, but they need to learn some basic principles of warfare. They need to learn how to deal with the lying, murderous enemies of God. Almighty God has put them on notice that powerful men and women will give them the type of demonstration they need. God describes this in Zech 12:4 "On that day I will strike every horse and rider with panic and its rider with madness," declares the LORD. "I will keep a watchful eye over the House of Judah, but I will blind the horses of the nations. Then the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the LORD Almighty is their God.’" The leaders of Judah have already given away the central and most important portion of Jerusalem – the Temple Mount. After capturing it, they handed it back to the Moslems for their exclusive use (even though the Israelis technically hold all rights to it). So God is not referring to them when He speaks of the People of Jerusalem. The people of Jerusalem are the faithful people of God who don’t shrink back from conquering kingdoms, and administering justice!! (See Heb 11:33 again). This is why God describes them as strong! They are not weaklings, and the leaders of Judah are soon to find this out! What is more, Judah will be empowered to even greater military might – and this is made clear in V6. They will go out and consume the surrounding nations left and right and free the Holy Land of all Satan’s hordes. Up until now, only the Jewish people – the Israelis – have had to contend with this murderous horde in their own land. And at each turn in the road their own self-righteous brother nations have thwarted them in their dealings with these mindless murderers, and have insisted on giving them God’s Land for peace. And now, God has decreed that the recalcitrant brother nations are to come face to face with the demonic hordes that are now sweeping across the globe.

 

The Sacred Rock. This is where Abraham brought Isaac for the sacrifice at God’s request. This is also the Rock over which the Holy of Holies in the Temple stood. And this is where Satan’s mosque stands today in absolute defiance of God!

You will recall that God has said wars will continue to the end – and we all know when the end comes, don’t we? It’s written in 1Cor 15:24. This end is still many years away. There are many wars still to be fought, and Satan’s hordes will not go quietly. They will fight every inch of the way and never concede – except in death. Well, death will be swift and justice will prevail. God intends to make war in righteousness. On a precautionary note, the Churches of God have not been given authority to fight. This has been given to those who are trained for conquering kingdoms and administering justice! One thing these righteous men and women know is the meaning of justice! And as Zechariah said of his son John the Baptist, this entails rescuing the House of Israel from the hands of their enemies (Luke 1:74).

There is a perception among Christianity that God can do anything He wants to, and so it’s not necessary for any prophecy to be fulfilled – provided He makes the right choices over who is entitled to inherit everlasting glory. And, of course, they believe they have the ‘spiritual stakes’ sown up. After all, haven’t they spent years ‘jumping for Jesus’ and saying lots of nice things about Him? Haven’t they spent years whooping and hollering at public evangelistic gatherings, and conducting prayer meetings which are really prayer competitions for each to prove his spiritual worth in a vain attempt to gain ascendancy over others? Luke 20:47 "They devour widow’s houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely." Especially when people drift off into a quasi-hypnotic state and imagine this to be the work of God’s Holy Spirit! Such people have become so narrowly and inwardly focused you couldn’t poke them with a stick. Most of them are quite deranged; in fact, when you look at them they appear to be right off the emotional scale. I wonder if they’ve ever studied the examples of the servants of God portrayed in the Bible?

A quick look at any world map will quickly reveal their objectives. They are pushing ahead to unite the whole world in their power-bloc – with the obvious exception of the 12 Tribes of Israel. The unifying power-bloc is being created for the very purpose of uniting against the whole House of Israel. And it’s all about Law – the rule of law practiced by the 12 Tribes of Israel – the legacy of God’s Commandments. In warning us of the certain invasion of the Islamic hordes, God warns that ‘they are a law to themselves’. This is how He describes it: Hab 1:5 "Look at the nations and watch – and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told. I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwelling-places not their own. They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law to themselves and promote their own honour."

God left no doubt at all of when the Babylonians would sweep across the earth. He even speaks of the final outcome in the same Book of Habakkuk. Hab 2:2 "The the LORD replied: "Write down the revelation, and make it plain in tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay." We all know when the end comes, don’t we? (1Cor 15:24). This is when Christ destroys all dominion, authority and power and puts all His enemies under His feet. And the last enemy to be destroyed is Death himself (he’s mentioned in Rev 6:8). Since God’s words speak of an appointed time – they speak of the end, we are further advised of which time this is: Hab 2:14 "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea." And God intends for this to be so! Then in chapter three of Habakkuk, Habakkuk composed a song of prayer, a Shigionoth, commemorating the prophetic words of Moses. Moses spoke these same things immediately after the Song of Moses (Deut 32 and Rev 15:3) and so did the Levite priest and prophet Samuel (2Sam 22:11). All three spoke of the same events. This is what Habakkuk wrote: Hab. 3:3 "God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. His Glory covered the heavens and His praise filled the earth." Teman is Saudi Arabia today, and Mount Paran is just beyond the borders of little Israel. These are the regions where Esau (Edom) settled, and are still there today! Isaiah tells us exactly what He plans to do there (Isa 63:1-6).

Continuing in Hab 3:4 "His splendor was like the sunrise; rays flashed from His hand, where His power was hidden. Plague went before Him; pestilence followed His steps. He stood, and shook the earth; He looked and made the nations tremble. The ancient mountains crumbled and the age-old hills collapsed, His ways are eternal." Didn’t John the Baptist mention these things in Luke 3:5? And wasn’t John quoting from Isaiah 40:3-5? So both of these Levite priests knew what to expect! The rays that flash from His hand are like the sunrise. These rays are the weapons of God, like fire from heaven. It’s these same rays that will burn up the enemies of John the Baptist’s successor. As Isaiah said in Isa 40:5 "And the Glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it." Why should anyone doubt where God lives? He has told us again and again, the only problem is, that at the moment, all mankind can’t yet see it! But it will be revealed, and it will bring real terror to all the enemies of God.

The Shigionoth of Habakkuk continues: V8 "Were you angry with the rivers, O LORD? Was your wrath against the streams? Did you rage against the sea when you rode with your horses and your victorious chariots? You uncovered your bow, you called for many arrows. You split the earth with rivers; the mountains saw you and writhed. Torrents of water swept by; the deep roared and lifted its waves on high. Sun and moon stood still in the heavens at the glint of your flying arrows, at the lightning of your flashing spear. In wrath you strode through the earth and in anger you threshed the nations. You came to deliver your people, to save your anointed one. You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness (Mal 1:4), you stripped him from head to foot. With your own spear you pierced his head when his warriors stormed out to scatter us, gloating as though they were about to devour the wretched who were in hiding. You trampled the sea with your horses, churning the great waters."

God points out that there is a leader in the land of wickedness who will be executed by the Mighty Christ Himself. This is not talking about an ordinary leader or ruler, it’s speaking of a ruler of the heavenly realms in that region; one of the many who are invisible and are not flesh and blood (Eph 6:10-12). The human beings are merely puppets in their hands. The ruler calls all the shots. It should be pointed out that these objectives are not being sought by mindless, individual Moslems, who themselves have no ability to think rationally, but by the rulers of the heavenly realms. These are the parasites that live in their human hosts. They need a human host in order to enjoy any form of life. We have the example of when Christ cast out demons from their human host, and they begged Him repeatedly not to sent them to the Abyss (Luke 8:30). All these things should be clearly understood by anyone who sought to understand even the basic tenets of God’s Truth. It’s all recorded. The problem is that most church leaders are not interested in Truth – but only in market share of converts. And anything that would alienate them is dismissed as unacceptable – even if God Himself has stated it!

Oddly enough, Satan knows who God’s people are, but God’s people don’t know who they are or who their Master is (Isa 1:2-4). You may even be interested in reading the rest of this chapter in Isaiah, since it details the time of which God is speaking. In the early days of the U.S. as a nation, the founding fathers did know, or at least, suspected that they were the ‘lost sheep of Israel’. The satanic hordes hate God’s people – the Americans, Israelis, Europeans and Australians. It’s very clear whose propaganda they’ve been listening to. And all without cause or any form of justification! The enemies of God hate the 12 Tribes of Israel because they hold to the righteousness of ‘rule of law’, and favour peaceful coexistence instead of conquest, and a better and more equitable political system – democracy. Democracy is not perfect, and it’s soon to be replaced with God’s form of government, but it’s still the best political system that anyone could hope for in the present circumstances.

The House of Israel is under the mistaken impression that the whole world wants peace. It’s one thing to want peace, but this does not take into account the overriding force of ambition. And it’s ambition that drives the rulers of this earth – give them a little power and their ambitions become global! When God speaks of the Babylonians, it becomes code for Moslems – the religion of those who live in Islamic nations – the former territories of Nebuchadnezzar. Speaking of these people in parable form, Habakkuk likens them to fish in the sea: Hab 1:14 "You have made men like fish in the sea, like sea creatures that have no ruler. The Wicked Foe pulls all of them up with hooks, he catches them in his net, he gathers them up in his dragnet; and so he rejoices and is glad. Therefore he sacrifices to his net and burns incense to his dragnet, for by his net he lives in luxury and enjoys the choicest food. Is he to keep on emptying his net, destroying nations without mercy?" You get the impression that Habakkuk was speaking of a specific person who becomes the much-sought ruler of those who have no ruler. And he is of course! Islam has no ruler, that is, no central figure to lead them in conquest. Saddam Hussein believes himself to be this ruler, but no-one else is listening. The Moslem nations really don’t want or need another Nebuchadnezzar to come along and beat the tar out of them. They want a religious ruler who will come along with a big dragnet and cast it over other nations, so they can enjoy the plunder and live in luxury, enjoying the choicest food. They want slaves to do all the work for them, and plenty of women and children to satisfy their craven sexual desires. And I kid you not! Moslems are the most debauched and sexually depraved animals on the face of the earth! Black Africans come in second, and the runners-up are the Latinos of South America. Collectively, the rest of the Gentiles come in equal fourth.

The rulers of the heavenly realms tend to select their front-men very well. They instill within them an arrogance that doesn’t match their abilities, but they use this arrogance to their advantage. God gives us the perfect example of this arrogance in the days of Nebuchadnezzar: Dan 4:23 "You, O king, saw a messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump, bound with iron and bronze, in the grass of the field, while its roots remain in the ground. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven; let him live like wild animals, until seven times passes over him.’ V28 "All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, he said, "Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?" The words were still on his lips when a voice came from heaven, "This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority is taken away from you. You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone He wishes." Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like cattle. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird."

This is not the first time this has happened. It happened with Satan the devil, who was once the glorious lightbringer – the morning star. Today he has been transformed into a loathsome dragon-beast and is called the ‘Dragon’ and ‘Serpent’. It’s a fitting punishment for those who disobey and rebel against God. But this ruler did learn a bitter lesson (unlike some of the peoples of the earth, or for that matter, the powers of heaven as well) and came to his senses. This is the account of the man Nebuchadnezzar: V34 "At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes towards heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honoured and glorified Him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; His Kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as He pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No-one can hold back His hand or say to Him, ‘What have you done?’"

Like a potter molding the clay, God decides what each will be according to His Great Plan. Nebuchadnezzar resembled an eagle during his punishment, but God is able to create an eagle for a good and righteous purpose. Similarly, a lion is a ferocious beast that kills anything it chooses, but a lion can be created for good – as is the case of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. This Lion – the Mighty Christ – will go out and tear whole nations to pieces as a ferocious lion does, but later, all lions in the Holy Land will be as peaceful as a lamb and will eat straw like an ox (Isa 11:6-9). This will be when the whole House of Israel is settled and living in peace.

Central to what Nebuchadnezzar said is the statement: ‘All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing.’ In another place (Isa 40:17) God says they are not only regarded as nothing, but they are less than worthless. Those who have had their sanity restored would understand this, and know the reasons why! Who are we to argue with God? Whose purpose are we to uphold? God’s purpose? Or that of the peoples of the earth who suffer a form of insanity? Now you need to decide whose side you are on! And God is about to give you some encouragement to know the difference – just as He did with Nebuchadnezzar.

God does as He pleases with the peoples of the earth and with the powers of heaven – the rulers of the heavenly realms. If you imagine that God has any responsibility towards the peoples of the earth then you are deluding yourself. God chose just one family of all the families of the earth (Amos 3:1-2), and as undeserving as they might be, God is faithful in upholding His promises. God also reserves the right to fulfill His promises in any manner that He chooses. And His choice is not in accordance with the pathetic doctrine being taught by Christianity today!

You may be starting to realize that God is less concerned with the peoples of the earth than He is with the rulers of the heavenly realms. It was the rulers of the heavenly realms that started the rebellion, which led to the destruction of the earth – the earth that God so loved! For this reason, He rose up a Son for the specific purpose of destroying the devil’s work (1John 3:8). You will notice that the devil’s work has not yet been destroyed. Christ must remain in heaven until the time comes to restore everything just as the prophets have said. Acts 3:21 "He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as He prophesied long ago through His holy prophets. For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. Anyone who doesn’t listen to him will be cut off from among his people. Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken have foretold these days. And you are heirs of the prophets and of the Covenant God made with your fathers."

NOTE: There is a New Covenant among those who ate and drank with Christ – the 12. Acts 10:41. It was these witnesses that Christ had previously chosen, who ate and drank with Him, with whom He made the New Covenant. It was these who received the Gift of the Counsellor. It was these men who were also totally obedient to God and His Commandments. The rest did not receive the Gift of the Counsellor, but only the down-payment of God’s Holy Spirit.

But the few thousand (seven) whom God has reserved for Himself at this present time, will go on to great heights and serve Almighty God faithfully – just as His Son Jesus did! Their example will serve all Israel well, and bring many others into the light. Their specific purpose will be to secure in faithfulness those who form the 144,000 of the Tribes of Israel. This is the primary objective in order that God’s promises to the fathers should be upheld. And as God reaps where He has not sown, He has also determined that a great multitude from many nations will be elevated to eternal life. And these will bear God’s Name. Acts 15:15 "The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: ‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear my Name, says the Lord, who does these things’ that have been known for ages."

There’s going to be a lot of gnashing of teeth when all those who thought they were God’s Church suddenly find themselves excluded, and replaced by Gentiles bearing God’s Name. They will be part of God’s Family, bearing the Family Name, and all the other self-righteous hypocrites will be thrust out. Paul made it clear that the Gentiles would be called to provoke Israel to envy or jealousy (Rom 11:11, 15). There are a number of Gentiles in this Levite Ministry, and to any one of them I would entrust my life! They know the score and they know what is required of them. They have already surrendered their lives to God – totally! They know we are in the final days before all hell breaks loose. They know that the mighty Ephraim already has grey hairs on his head. They know of the crazy attempts at diplomacy by the State Department has led them into a hornet’s nest of lying intrigue. Ephraim mixes with the lying nations of the earth and treat them as equals, never realizing they are doing deals with God’s enemies. The prophet Hosea foresaw it all: Hos 7:8 "Ephraim mixes with the nations; Ephraim is a flat cake not turned over. Foreigners sap his strength, but he does not realize it. His hair is sprinkled with grey, but he does not notice. Israel’s arrogance testifies against him, but despite all this he does not return to the LORD his God or search for Him. Ephraim is like a silly dove, easily deceived and senseless – now calling to Egypt, now turning to Assyria. When they go, I will throw my net over them; I will pull them down like birds of the air. When I hear them flocking together, I will catch them. Woe to them, because they have rebelled against me! I long to redeem them but they speak lies against me. They do not cry out to me from their hearts but wail upon their beds. They gather together for grain and new wine but turn away from me. I trained them and strengthened them, but they plot evil against me. They do not turn to the Most High; they are like a faulty bow. Their leaders will fall by the sword because of their insolent words. For this they will be ridiculed in Egypt." Ephraim is too silly to realize that they are already being ridiculed in Egypt, in fact, they are being ridiculed by almost every nation on earth.

But of course, there is more to it than that! Not only are they presently verbally ridiculed now, God has also stated something that you would not believe, even if you were told. God says Ephraim will return to Egypt (Hos 8:13, 9:3). ‘Return to Egypt’ means they will return under the same circumstances as the House of Israel did in Jacob’s time. And God calls this period the ‘time of Jacob’s trouble’. Jacob’s trouble began amid famines and crop failures, and he and his sons had no alternative than to seek refuge in Egypt. Presently, you could not imagine any circumstance where Americans would seek refuge in Egypt, but then you probably don’t understand what God has in mind to bring it about. What God has said, He will do!

God gives us a little more detail: Hos 9:5 "What will you do on the day of your appointed feasts, on the Festival Days of the LORD? Even if they escape destruction, Egypt will gather them, and Memphis will bury them. Their treasures of silver will be taken over by briers, and thorns will overrun their tents." (God tells us what He means by briers and thorns – He means malicious neighbours – Eze 28:24). Egypt will see the advantage of having American expertise within their boundaries, but more importantly, they will have plenty of hostages. They will note that a greater and mightier force is building in the Promised Land, an invincible force, a Kingdom that cannot be defeated. By having American hostages within their borders they think they will deter a major attack – according to the reasoning of the mad, Islamic mind! God has foreseen this circumstance and has determined to offer an exchange of hostages.

But just so there are no doubts about why the days of punishment are rapidly approaching, God makes it very clear! Continuing in Hos 9:7 "The days of punishment are coming, the days of reckoning are at hand. Let Israel know this. Because your sins are many and your hostility so great, the prophet is considered a fool, the inspired man a maniac. The prophet, along with my God, is the watchman over Ephraim, yet snares await him on all his paths, and hostility in the House of his God." The House of God, in this instance, is the House of Israel. The days of punishment are coming, but the day of reckoning is here! God is simply warning that most of the House of Israel is so far gone into a world of delusion that they are incapable of any form of rational reckoning. God’s prophet is a maniac and a fool, according to the feeble-minded, yet the prophet, along with Almighty God Himself, is the watchman over Ephraim. God has already appointed him! And he is watching! For almost 24 hours a day he watches, nothing escapes him, and everything is noted. He is the servant of Almighty God, and he faithfully declares God’s intentions.

I personally wouldn’t arraign an army for battle unless I knew that every last one of them was willing to fight to the death. And neither would I include any man who didn’t fully believe and understand that they were fighting as the armies of the Living God! It’s not a question of stamina or battle prowess, but a question of mental fitness – to be fit for the Kingdom of God! Samson was an ordinary man, but his great strength and power was given him by God. In the final selection, the servants of God will be like God Himself. God has made this very clear: Zech 12:8 "On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem (He’ll put a wall of fire around them), so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the House of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD going before them. On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem."

Why would God empower His servants like this if they are not to fight? And this is where the crackpot teachings of mainstream Christianity today get it so wrong. They firmly believe that they are not supposed to fight, and in this they have it right! Yet throughout history, Christianity has fought many battles under the banner of Christianity, but rarely did they target God’s enemies! But God says His servants will fight! So did Jesus (John 18:36)! Those who are raised to God-like rank will fight, and they will set out to destroy the nations that attack Jerusalem. Still speaking of this day, God begins speaking about ‘prophets’ who presumed too much upon themselves, and have been deceiving people. ‘Prophets’ who had no enlightenment, who unlike God’s prophets, knew nothing about anything – until it was too late! God speaks further about this day: Zech 13:1 "On that day a fountain will be opened to the House of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity." Remember Jesus’ promise of Living Water?

And notice the reference to ‘prophets’ who don’t know what they are talking about! V3 "And if anyone still prophesies, his father and mother, to whom he was born, will say to him, ‘You must die, because you have told lies in the LORD’S Name.’ When he prophesies, his own parents will stab him. On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his prophetic vision." On that day it will be a serious offence for people to be telling lies in the LORD’S Name. Some of the prophecies being uttered today are absolutely outrageous! They reflect nothing that God has said, but merely what men have assumed from their own minds. Prophets are not raised up to bring the type of good news being taught in the Churches. The prophets are raised up to warn! Initially, a prophet’s warnings are bad news – but with good outcomes to all who listen and obey. The real good news is that when the days of punishment comes, there will be people to rescue the House of Israel from the lands where they have been driven. It will be just as the priest Zechariah said of his son, John the Baptist: Luke 1:74 "To rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve Him without fear in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days. And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High (the Most High is God the Father); for you will go before the Lord to prepare the way for Him, to give His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the Rising Sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace." This is John the Baptist who fulfilled all that was said of him up to the time of his premature death.

But it’s the rest of what was said of John the Baptist that wasn’t fulfilled that applies to the events immediately preceding Christ’s return, and which heralds the establishment of God’s Kingdom that is of particular note. For instance, "the Rising Sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace." The Rising Sun is alternatively called the Morning Star, because He’s the Lightbringer. This prophecy was spoken before the Church was established by Christ, and who later said He would ‘build His Church’ (Matt 16:18). Many years later, in the twilight years of the Apostle John, he was given this message: Rev 22:16 "Behold I am coming soon!" And in V16 "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this Testimony for the Churches. I am the Root and Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star."

And why? Because they have lost sight of the things that are sacred to God. They’ve shown utter contempt for God’s Holy City and the Promised Land, and God is about to show His contempt for them. Hundreds of years ago, the Jewish people stood at the Wailing Wall, the last remaining section of the Temple Mount of Solomon’s time, and they wailed for God’s Holy City. They still do it today! They never forgot God’s City, and they longed to return! No wonder God loves the people of Judah! No other nation has passed muster as these people have! Little wonder that God brings them into focus at the time of Elijah’s appearance as recorded in Isa 40:3 (see also Luke 3:4-6). This is what God says concerning the present custodians of the Holy City Jerusalem: Isa 40:1-2 "Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD’S hand double for all her sins." God is going to comfort His people, the people of His City of Jerusalem. They have suffered far more than any others, and have paid double for their sins. Their love of God’s Holy City has never diminished. For centuries, they have had a saying, ‘Next year in Jerusalem!’